News reports refer to what happened that night as an ‘alleged’ incident of police brutality. But we’ve seen the video and it sure looks real to us. Screenshot of police brutality in progress from victim Mike Bergron’s YouTube video.

On January 6th, Mike Bergeron posted a shocking video on YouTube starring himself as a victim of police brutality. The aspiring rapper explains that he was picked up by police and taken to the Seabrook, NH police station for driving under the influence (DUI). The police officers locked him in a cell until the bail bonds company posted his bail. They then released him into the booking room so he could call for a ride home, and said he could take his wallet and cellphone. What happened next is appalling. Bergeron writes:

“… as soon as I grabbed my wallet from the table the officer with the glasses came at me saying he never told me I could take my stuff and choked me against the wall then tried to grab the wallet from my pocket. once he got the wallet and my phone this is what happened…”

The police brutality was caught on video.

Had Seabrook, NH’s finest been smarter, they would have done their dirty work away from the surveillance cameras. Here’s the video — which has gone viral with over 127,000 views at the time of this writing — showing the police brutality incident in progress.

[youtube:http://youtu.be/BKzxvH6Czsg]

In case you don’t have the stomach for watching this, the video shows three cops shoving Bergeron into a wall, beating him, spraying him with pepper spray, and then laughing about it.

The police brutality victim may file a lawsuit.

Kyle Stucker from Hampton-North Hampton Patch writes that this happened way back in Nov. 2009. The report also refers to the incident as “alleged police brutality,” even though it looks pretty danged real to this writer. So why haven’t we heard about it until now? Mike Bergeron explains on his YouTube post that he hasn’t filed a lawsuit yet, and didn’t even have the video until now because he somehow lost touch with his lawyer.

Now, the victim is mulling over a lawsuit against the Seabrook Police Dept.

“there was no lawsuit made due to the fact I found a lawyer and the lawyer took the tapes and disappeared for 2 years until I finally tracked him down and go it back but now I think its to late to do anything with it even though I have a permanent lump on the back of my head chipped teeth and brain injuries but talking to a lawyer soon well see what happens.”

The long delay and the part about the lawyer disappearing for two years strike this writer as odd, but the police brutality shown in the video footage is hard to deny. Even if Bergeron had been violent or uncooperative, the beating, pepper-spraying, and laughing about it afterwards seems way over the top.

Bill Manzi, Seabrook’s town manager, confirmed with Hampton North Hampton Patch that the video exists and told reporters that the three police officers had been put on leave and that the town would conduct a full investigation. Police Chief Lee Bitomsk and other town officials did not name the three police officers and declined to make any further public comments.